British director Danny Boyle has won the Toronto Film Festival's main prize for Slumdog Millionaire.
The People's Choice Award, voted for by film fans, is regarded as an early indicator of success at the Oscars.
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Boyle, 51, received critical acclaim for previous gritty works such as Shallow Grave, Trainspotting and the zombie-horror film 28 Days Later.
Cash prize
Previous winners of the Canadian award include the London gangster film Eastern Promises by acclaimed director David Cronenberg.
Patel plays orphan Jamal, who appears on the Indian version of the hit TV game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
Originally, Boyle said he had hoped for an all Bollywood cast.
However, that was not possible as local Indian actors "didn't look enough like losers" for the main role of poor Jamal.
"It's a great underdog story," he said.
"In Bollywood if you want to be a young actor breaking into the system, you have to go to the gym for six hours a day to bulk up. I needed a very average-looking guy."
Bollywood star Anil Kapoor also stars in the movie, along with newcomer Freida Pinto.
Winners of the award are also presented with $15,000 (about Ј8,400).
(BBC)
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